On Monday, 30^th August, the 4/5 and 5/6 classess were fortunate to experience a visit from Menzies Institute for Medical Research Scientist, Dr Andy Flies.

Dr Flies is working to produce a vaccine to protect Tasmanian devils from the facial tumour disease. He spoke to us about his research and explained how the immune system reacts to cancer cells and viruses and made connections between his research and Covid-19 which helped deepen our understanding. Whilst Dr Flies’ work centres on gene splicing phosporescent gene fragments into proteins so that they can be identified, the take-home message from his visit was focused on resillience and gratitude.

We were read the book ‘Oh The Places You Will Go’ and Dr Flies drew parallels with the narrative and his own life experiences, including his adventures in Kenya. Some notable quotes include:

“Things can change a lot as you grow up, so just be open-minded about things”.

“Whether you like something or not, do it well”.

“Keep working hard, one foot infront of another, and you will get out of your rutt”.

These words of wisdom align closely with our school values of ‘nature, nurture, knowledge’ and we feel grateful for the opportunity to broaden our global perspectives and further our growth as a learning community.